A Ranger's Friends
by artyom2013
Summary: What happens when the Normandy drive core overloads? Will Moscow Ranger, Alexei Puskov find love within his new-found friends? Will the crew of the Normandy survive in post apocalyptic Moscow? Read this fan fiction to find out! (maybe a little bit of romance towards the end) (I do not own Mass Effect or Metro 2033) ( Rated M for Violence, blood, and profanity)
1. Prologue

A Ranger's Friends

(The Rights to the Metro series belong to Dmitry Glukhovsky, THQ, and 4A games, as Mass Effect belongs to EA games and Bioware studios, this is merely a fan fiction)(also the Shepard being used in this story is femShep)

Prologue

Alexei sat in the formation around the truck with the rest of the rangers, the watchers stampeded through the landscape, ignoring the soldiers, until one single watcher broke off, curious about the rangers. Suddenly, a shot rang out, and the mass of mutated creatures converged on the small circle of rangers, as Alexei thought to himself, _"where the hell is Shepard and the rest of the group? If those mudaki chickened out I swear to god I'll kill them_". Then they came, through the doors that led to the metros, and realizing that the "simple" mission had backfired, Shepard yelled to Alexei, "Damn, you look like you need help!" and he replied "No, Really?! I hadn't noticed!" Shepard couldn't help but smirk, as not even a "Anyway, we need some fire support, but don't draw too much attention! I need you alive!" as he emptied half a magazine into an oncoming watcher. The blaze of gunfire erupting from the small group was not doing much to gain ground and move towards the broadcast tower, Artyom needed to get the laser designator to the top, to save the metros. Out of nowhere a ranger cries out "DEMONS!" Alexei looks up in horror as the winged beasts dive down from the clouds. As Alexei is staring at his impending demise, a watcher tackles him, as he is fighting his way free, he can feel his kevlar vest being torn away by teeth and claws, finally, a tearing, painful bite on the neck throws him into darkness, as Shepard, Tali, and Garrus look at their Russian comrade seemingly get torn to pieces by the mutated wolves.

End Prologue


	2. Chapter 1

"A Ranger's Friends"

(the rights to the Metro series belongs to Dmitry Glukhovsky, THQ, and 4A games, as Mass effect belongs to EA games and Bioware studios)(Still using FemShep)

Chapter 1

Unexpected Journey

As the Normandy SR2 was escaping from the destroyed Collector base, and the Galactic core's black holes that would surely destroy them if given the chance, Sarah Shepard took some time to hold a sort of funeral in Mordin's memory, he had died in the collector base while leading the fire team so they could rendezvous (spelling?) In the designated spot. But something went wrong as they approached the Omega 4 relay, Joker stated "Uhh, Commander, you're gonna want to see this...". Instead of the usual red glow, it was black with a white 'atmosphere' of light around it. Passing it off as nothing, Sarah barked at Joker to go through anyway as he replied "Okay commander, if you say so..." and as soon as they went close enough, the drive core overloaded, issuing a deafening _crack!_ As Shepard was in the middle of telling the 'Illusive Man' off for trying to take control of the human reaper "I'm not going to let you put the galaxy in peril again Illusi-" *CRACK!* and was knocked over by the alarming speed the Normandy had gone. Shepard yelled into the comms at Joker "What the hell was that Joker?!" and he replied "I have no god damn clue!" as they both regained their bearings, Tali came up from engineering with a very angry voice, "What was that you Bosh'tet?!" nearly hitting joker on the head before remembering that it could cave his skull in. After a brief moment EDI came online with a critical message "Warning, The Normandy is at dangerously low altitude, I recommend you pull up before we impa-" EDI was cut off as the Normandy smashed into the ground with incredible force, nearly knocking everyone to the floor.

**Polis Station ranger recruitment area, 45 minutes earlier**

"Ugh! Miller, Why do I have to be in charge of the new recruits?!" Alexei said in disgust "That's Ulman's job, not mine!" as Miller replied, in his thick and grizzled Russian accent "Because Ulman is out on patrol near 'Lubianka' in search of a few missing comrades, and you are the most social of the rangers, well in Ulman's abscence anyway". Alexei turned and walked away towards the new recruits, "Okay you rookies, What are your names?" one replied saying: "Oleg...Sir..." Alexei yelled in disgust "I am not a sir, I work for a living!" the rookie shaking in his boots, "And you! Who are you?" the other also afraid of Alexei's wrath "I-I-I am Nikolai Dracovitch..." and Alexei started laughing "You really thought I was _that_ guy?!" as he continued laughing, the others joined in. "Okay, enough joking around, as your current 'tour guide' of our great capital, I am to teach you where to look for food if you are ever lost outside of the metros, now ready your gas masks, we leave in a few minutes". The group walked up to the airlock and opened it to greet the frozen landscape of their home city...


	3. Chapter 2

"A Ranger's Friends"

(the rights to the Metro series belongs to Dmitry Glukhovsky, THQ, and 4A games, as Mass effect belongs to EA games and Bioware studios)(FemShep is used)

Chapter 2

Toxic air

As the Normandy crew regained consciousness they wondered what had happened. "What the hell was that?" a very confused Garrus said. EDI then replied, skipping in and out "We app-er to ha- lan- ed... on E-" cutting out before she finished "Where?" Joker asked, to no avail, As he deactivated the shutters to get a better view of the landscape, he was greeted with a frozen world, abandoned buildings, and a depressing feeling. Tali commented on the view, "Keelah, it looks like those pictures of that place in winter, what was it, uh, Chernobyl! Or Pripyat " and Joker replied saying, "Yeah, it kind of does," he then thought of talking to EDI to get a location. EDI, who had gotten back up and running, said "Our current Geographic and celestial location puts us in Moscow, Russia on Earth in the Sol system", all around the ship, jaws hit the floor with the news, the previously quiet Sarah Shepard said, "EDI recalculate our location, because last I remember, Moscow wasn't a group of destroyed, abandoned buildings" and was met with a "The calculations are correct, and scans are showing high toxic chemical readings in the atmosphere, filter masks are recommended" Joker then looked at Tali and said, "Well,looks like _you_ don't have to worry about that" and was met with a cold stare...

** Meanwhile in ths frozen streets of Moscow 5 minutes before the crash**

"Oleg, check out those dead 'stalkers', they usually have good sh*t" Alexei said to one of the rookies "Okay Alexei" he said back. As they were searching through the corpses in the street, a deafening _CRACK_ tore through the air. "What in the name of god was that?!" yelled Alexei, and then he saw it, a massive vessel plummeting to the ground "Oh my god!" yelled both Oleg and Nikolai. When it crashed, their first thought was to investigate and look for survivors, if it had any people on it at all, when they got to the site, a massive ship was resting on the ground, Alexei found what resembled a door and started knocking "_knock knock knock_, Anyone in there? Hello!?"

**in the Normandy** {words in brackets are translated due to my computer's inability to recognize Cyrillic}

A muffled knocking and russian speech were coming from outside. Tali asked somewhat fearfully "What's that noise?" and it continued "{Hello?! Anyone alive in there? Open up!}" as it was not working a quieter conversation was spoken, "maybe they don't speak russian!}" "{Oh, right, blyat, I'm such an idiot}" as Alexei clears his throat to ready his Russian accent "Ahem! Ok, Hello?! Is anyone in there alive? Open Up!" and Shepard replied, "Yes we are alive! Now leave the ship alone!" and before she continued, Garrus interrupted with, "sorry to interrupt Shepard, but we are not in a position to push away potential allies, as you saw before, the air is toxic and the ice is very cold...and Turians do not like the cold at all, so if they could survive here, I'd take their advice..." and Shepard reluctantly said "EDI, let them in..."


	4. Chapter 3

"A Ranger's Friends"

(the rights to the Metro series belongs to Dmitry Glukhovsky, THQ, and 4A games, as Mass effect belongs to EA games and Bioware studios)(FemShep is used)

Chapter 3

Mutants

"Finally!" Alexei said as the airlock door opened, as it cycled he wrote in his journal, "_new discovery, possible species from another planet!"_ As the second set of doors opened, The trio of rangers were greeted by 15 assault rifles and two species that were totally new to them, Turian and Quarian, the latter is what caught Oleg's eyes and he foolishly asked, "Hey, why is she in a gas mask? I thought it the air wasn't toxic in here!"Tali then got a little angry and replied with, "Because I'm a quarian you ignorant Bosh'tet!" a still confused Oleg replied with "A wha-" and was interrupted by a slap on the back of the head by Alexei who said, "Stop pissing them off Oleg! They are pointing guns at us! And before anything gets worse, My name is Alexei Puskov, I am 25 years old and part of the Delta squad of the Moscow rangers, Nice to meet you, miss..." "Zorah, Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy, Nice to meet you, too Alexei" replied Tali. Alexei gives Oleg a friendly smack on the shoulder and says "That is how civilized people speak, no matter to who it is. Now, I suggest we get moving, I'd hate to see such nice people get slaughtered by the mutants" At this point Shepard got very confused, "Mutants?" she said "What happened to cause mutants?" And after this Alexei gets annoyed "Where the hell have you been for the last 20 years, living under a ro- wait, nevermind, anyway,20 years ago, on July 5th 2013, the gre-" as Alexei was interrupted again by Jacob Taylor this time "Wait, that would make it 2033, so we went back in time as well?" As the confusion continued Alexei explained the events leading up to and after the great nuclear war and they set out to find the nearest station...

**2 hours later**

The group was walking as an animalistic growl was heard and Tali asked, "Keelah, what was that?!" "Watchers" replied Alexei, "Everyone, Get down!" as everyone lied down to avoid being seen, Tali asked "What is a watcher?" Alexei replied "It's a-" "mutated wolf" Nikolai interrupted and, before anyone could even take another breath, a watcher hopped up onto the log Tali was hiding behind, sniffed her, and jumped on top of her and attacked. Out of instinct, Alexei grabbed his knife and rammed full speed into the watcher before it could even think an angry thought at Tali, and all fo a sudden, there was no more watcher, just a pile of blood, meat and chipped bones. "Nobody. Fucks. With. My. Team" Alexei said standing over the ground beef that was at one point, a watcher, and before Tali can say thanks, Jack interrupts, "That was fuckin' badass! And I never got to ask, what does that tattoo on your forearm say?" Alexei says, "It says 'if its hostile, you kill it'" "And the one on your neck?" Jack asks "It's the symbol for the rangers, a radiation sign, with a skull inside of it" Tali finally gets to speak and she says, "Thanks Alexei, I don't want to know what would have happened..." she shivers before she can finish

END OF CHAPTER 3


	5. Chapter 4

"A Ranger's Friends"

(the rights to the Metro series belongs to Dmitry Glukhovsky, THQ, and 4A games, as Mass effect belongs to EA games and Bioware studios)(FemShep is used) (I will try to remember to space out the lines) {} still means its in russian (The 'kalash' is what people in the metro call the AK-74)

Chapter 4

Nazis

As the group walked towards an entrance to the tunnels, a shot rings out, barely missing

Nikolai's head, at this point, Oleg screams, "Sniper! Everyone dow-" he was cut off as a bullet

hit his mask filter, breaking off the main part but leaving the threaded part in the mask. "Oleg!"

Alexei screamed as he watched the recruit suffocate on the ground and scrambling to get a new

filter in, but the remnants of the last filter blocked the way, Oleg was dead in 45 seconds, 30

seconds before going unconscious, 15 seconds before death. Alexei, now enraged by the loss of

his comrade, takes a pipe bomb off of his vest, places it in the homemade grenade launcher that

is on his 'kalash' rifle, lights the fuse and fired it into the window where the sniper shots came

from. The whole section of the building disappeared and through the dust, comes a group of 20

Nazis. Guns at the ready, aimed at the small group of rangers and Normandy crew, but before

opening fire, the officer had a small talk with Alexei, "{Alexei Puskov, we meet again...}" and

was met with a young, but grizzled voice "{Yes, you _svoloch_, I guess we do...}" As the officer

continued, he did so in english "So I assume you know my name now, right, you red spy!" and

opened fire on the group, but as they did so, Jack threw them all against the walls with her

powerful biotics, killing all but one, who she saved for Alexei, he then started tourturing the nazi

trooper, first by punching him in the face with his trench knife's knuckle piece, then cutting off

both trigger fingers on his hands. The nazi screamed in pain and was then told to go back to his

station to inform his leaders on these events...

END CHAPTER 4


End file.
